Aim Is To Make Tamil Nadu The Manufacturing And Knowledge Capital: T.R.B. Rajaa

You have said that you will stop brain drain and give individuals the facility to learn and research here. How do you propose to do that?

Retaining talent is key to leverage the upside of a knowledge economy hence its essential that highly skilled young talent is given the right research ecosystem and high-end salaries to stem the brain drain. To ensure this we are actively attracting high-end Design / R&D jobs and are enhancing our local capabilities in learning and research. Tamil Nadu is also leveraging its position as the R&D capital of India. Being the state with the highest number of research fellows as well as patents filed in India, our focus is on strengthening the research ecosystem further, and partnering with institutions such as the IIT Madras Research Park. We are actively creating synergies between industry and academia, ensuring that the necessary infrastructure is in place for both companies and institutions to establish their R&D centres and Global Capability Centers (GCCs) here. This approach has already attracted several major companies including Roche, Hitachi Energy, UPS, Akkodis, Qualcomm, and Boeing, to set up their R&D and GCC in Tamil Nadu. Our R&D policy, enhanced with the right incentives, aims to attract even more institutions to our state. We also incentivise jobs with salaries of over One Lakh rupees which is a win-win situation for both the companies and the talent.

You have been asserting that Tamil Nadu will achieve its trillion-dollar target by focussing on equitable and sustainable growth? Is it possible to reconcile accelerated growth and sustainability?

Tamil Nadu stands as a testament to the possibility of harmonizing accelerated economic growth with sustainability. Currently, 50% of our power generation capacity comes from renewable sources, and we plan to increase this to 75%. The state is aiming to generate 100 billion units of green energy, exploring avenues like offshore wind energy and by improving efficiency of wind energy generation, alongside initiatives like pumped storage to enable grid stability. The Chief Minister’s commitment to increase forest cover to 33% by 2030 and achieve a net-zero target well ahead of the national timeline underscores our dedication to sustainable development. Focused efforts on developing the climate industry, including solar cell and wind energy equipment manufacturing, as well as the burgeoning EV sector, are pivotal in our strategy to not only foster economic growth but also transition to greener energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions. We are also consistently increasing the cover of our protected areas and constantly increasing green cover. The Dravidian Model of Inclusive Growth includes Mother Nature as well!

Could you explain the salient features of the single-window clearance that Tamil Nadu has created for its industrial growth?

Tamil Nadu’s single-window clearance system is among the best in the country, offering businesses an a-la-carte choice of services tailoring incentive packages according to their needs. We constantly tweak and improve the process and execution of the SWS and even recently we added over 50 services and that’s why our EODB rankings have improved from 14 to Top Achiever. The SWS also has a dedicated help desk providing assistance to investors and ensuring hand-holding throughout the lifecycle of the project. Our SWS now covers 176 clearances and we are committed to the end-to-end digitization of the entire process, streamlining administrative procedures to facilitate faster and more efficient investment groundings.

What are the sunrise industries the state industries ministry is looking at—EV, FINTECH?

Our strategic focus encompasses a range of sunrise industries poised for significant growth and innovation, including Electric Vehicles (EV), Fintech, cutting-edge Aerospace and EWarfare focused Defence, Advanced Electronics and Semiconductors, Technical Textiles, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, High end Global Capability Centers (GCCs), and Advanced Manufacturing in the realm of Industry 4.0. These sectors represent the forefront of technological advancement and economic development, with specific targets aiming to position Tamil Nadu as a leader in these industries.

What makes TN the best investment destination in South Asia?

Tamil Nadu’s appeal as the premier investment destination in South Asia is multifaceted. The state boasts the best-skilled talent pool in the country, a vibrant business ecosystem, robust internal and social infrastructure, superior connectivity through its sea and airports, highly efficient investment promotion agency and an overall safe environment for the workforce which would drive the investment, especially for expats. Policy continuity across regimes, commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) norms, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) principles, macroeconomic stability, effective investor-friendly policies, and the ease of doing business all contribute to making Tamil Nadu an attractive location for investors from all parts of the world.